Broadway legend Carol Channing, the first celebrity to perform at a Super Bowl, dies at 97

TVLine

TV audiences may best know Channing for her recurring role as Aunt Sylvia Suvall on The Love Boat. Or for playing herself on everything from The Drew Carey Show to Touched by an Angel. But she was also a pioneer when it comes to TV sports. The first Super Bowls had marching bands perform at halftime. In 1970, Channing became the first celebrity to perform at a Super Bowl halftime, taking the stage at Super Bowl IV in New Orleans. Channing wasn't actually the focus of the halftime show, which still had bands, but she did perform "When the Saints Go Marchin In" and was invited back two years later. "It was like an opening night on Broadway, except we didn’t have much time to prepare for that first appearance," Channing recalled in 2016. "It felt a little like an after-thought. It must have been well received, because they asked me back two years later."